High Streets Strategy: Business Rates

Baroness Kramer Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Pitt-Watson (Lab)]

There is quite a long list of things to help. In the Budget alone, there is a 20% reduction for pubs and venues, 70,000 shops which will have no rates at all, and other leisure and retail outlets are frozen in real terms. There is the high streets strategy, with £210 million for the community assets programme, £125 million for derelict and vacant properties, and support for the extension of business improvement districts, including property owners outside of London being involved in the business improvement districts—I could go on. It is a broad programme to support the things that my noble friend would like to see happening.

[Baroness Kramer (LD)]

My Lords, with small and high street businesses under so much pressure, surely this is the time for the fundamental reform of business rates to, I suggest, a commercial landowner levy. I think we are past the point of fiddling at the margins. Do the Government recognise that a change such as this would enable hard-pressed small businesses to compete, to invest in energy improvements and to upgrade, bringing new vitality and jobs to the very heart of our communities?

[Lord Pitt-Watson (Lab)]

I reply to that in the same way as I did to my noble friend Lord Pitkeathley. The evidence suggests that shifting rates liability to landlords would be administratively quite cumbersome and would make it difficult for the funding of certain local services that want to go to particular types of shops and venues. That is why it is not being considered at this time.